


The Philosopher's Stone

by Yatorihell



Series: In The Darkness [10]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, ノラガミ | Noragami
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-20 07:15:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11331030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yatorihell/pseuds/Yatorihell
Summary: Hiyori pushes Yato to tell her and Yukine what Takemikazuchi meant when he talked about the Philosopher's Stone.Thank you to Ink (dr-gothtastic.tumblr.com) for beta-ing me!Happy birthday Anna (shadownightes.tumblr.com)!





	The Philosopher's Stone

After that night in the library, Hiyori didn’t see hide nor hair of Yato, seemingly vanished into the depths of the castle. She debated going to his hidey-hole study area, but something told her that he wouldn’t be there.

As the final days of winter break drew out, Hiyori pushed thoughts of that night away and enjoyed herself. When she wasn’t focused on her studies, she would lounge in the common room by the hearth. Slowly, her housemates trickled back with their luggage, exhausted from the festivities and ready to start the new term.

Aimi and Yama returned soon enough, both bearing promised gifts for Hiyori that they had brought back from their hometowns. From Aimi was an extravagant pink quill, its feather too long and fluffy to actually be of use without smudging ink everywhere. From Yama, an array of sweet treats that Hiyori hoped wouldn’t attack her or mar her tongue. Hiyori had also prepared gifts for them: ordinary muggle things that were familiar to Yama as her mother was muggleborn, yet completely obscure to Aimi – a pureblood – who had never seen a rubber duck in her life.

With the final night of Christmas break, Hiyori curled up in her bed, the dim candlestick illuminating the book she was reading. Well, trying to read. Her mind kept drifting back to the library, the conversation that was overheard: the stone, the chamber, Nicolas Flamel. That shadow… Hiyori pushed the thought away, snapping her book shut with finality as if the shadow were part of the story she was reading: fictional and harmless. As for what she heard, well, she would have to find Yato. He couldn’t hide forever. Extinguishing the candle and nestling under the covers, Hiyori slipped into a dreamless sleep.

 

~

 

Yukine could sense a depressing mood as students filed back into their classes, Christmas break long gone and the next reprieve being in spring. The mood was chatty, but quite subdued as they fell back into their usual routine of lectures and fighting the urge to fall asleep as Professor Akiha’s stuttering voice failed to reach the back of the classroom. Suzuha had to keep nudging Yukine’s arm – which was propping up his chin – every now and then to keep him from drifting off. After an hour of near-sleep, the tinny bell startled him awake. With bleary eyes and a groggy mind, he shoved his unused parchment in his bag.

Hiyori, who had been sitting a few rows away, collared Yukine straight away, dragging him away from Suzuha who had wanted to go to the allotments out on the grounds for break. Yukine grumbled but didn’t protest as Hiyori dragged him by the hand out of the classroom, secretly enjoying it despite Hiyori’s obliviousness. She was talking quickly and quietly, muttering something about a rock and Yato. Whatever she was saying went straight over his head, sleep still clouding his mind and making it hard to process anything she had said as she towed him into the Great Hall.

Hiyori craned her neck looking for Yato on the near-empty Slytherin table. When she spotted him, she pulled Yukine along behind her, plopping herself opposite Yato and pulling Yukine down next to her. Yato looked up from his book, faintly surprised that they had come to him this time.

“You need to tell me – and Yukine – what Takemikazuchi meant when he said stone and chamber,” Hiyori demanded. Yato who gave her a cold look, silently telling her to drop the issue before more people got involved. Of course, it was already too late.

“What are you on about?” Yukine asked, beginning to process what Hiyori was so keen to talk about. He looked between the two, clearly missing something. _A stone couldn’t be_ that _interesting. And what the hell was the chamber?_

“Over Christmas break we overheard –” Hiyori began a brief explanation of what had happened in the library, but Yato’s sharp voice cut her off.

“Hiyori!” Yato snapped, “Keep out of it!”

“No!” she snapped back, “You’re hiding something from us and it’s not anything good, so spit it out!”

“No!” Yato replied in an equally fierce voice, pushing himself up with enough force to move the whole bench. Scowling at Hiyori’s stricken face and Yukine’s alarmed glance between the two, he planted his hands on the table and leant forward.

“Shut up about it,” he said in a low, stony voice, “forget everything.”

Without another word, he sauntered out of the Great Hall, the feast not even having started yet, leaving Hiyori and Yukine alone on the foreign table. Hiyori swallowed the lump in her throat, looking down at her lap in shame. She pushed him too far. Yukine tentatively patted her shoulder in an awkward comfort, wracking his brain for something to say.

“Y’know,” he began slowly, barely even sure of what he was talking about, “you don’t need him to find the answers.”

Hiyori looked at him, her face downcast at the newest turn of events, but her eyes were questioning what he meant. Yukine’s hand froze as he went to pat her shoulder again, her gaze on him enough to make him feel a heat rush to his cheeks as it normally did whenever she glanced his way. Instead he placed his hand on the table, safely stopping any sort of motion that would cause him more embarrassment than it did in that moment.

“You were both there, so I gather you know as much as he does,” he said reasonably. Hiyori nodded her head slightly, though she was certain Yato had more context about what they had heard. Yukine continued.

“If you were in the library, then what you need is in there, isn’t it?”

Hiyori’s eyes widened fractionally, a smile flickering on her lips which is just about the last Yukine can take. He swings his legs over the bench, ready to go find Suzuha when Hiyori stands up beside him with renewed energy.

“You’re a genius.”

 

~

 

Yato spent the rest of the day in a sour mood. Hiyori’s nosiness and meddling would only cause more trouble, and make him look less inconspicuous if he were to try and get more information when she’s tailing after him.

Yato’s own Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons consisted of a lecture on Cornish Pixies, fiendish little devils that delighted in causing havoc, as usually seen when it comes to the practical class. Takemikazuchi’s piercing gaze allowed no room for chatter or secret messages, like a hawk waiting for some helpless treat to scarper in his direction before it tears it to pieces. Paired with the scathing voice he used to talk down to them from his position on the balcony, his presence alone was enough to make even a seventh-year shiver in dread.

The loftiness of his aura lasts throughout the entire lesson, and even lingers when the bell rings seconds after he concludes the lesson and delivers their new assignment. The sharp scrapes of wood on stone fills the class as they’re dismissed, marking the end of the school day. Yato watches from the corner of his eye, noticing how the professor exits the class before anyone else as if in a hurry to go somewhere, despite their being no more classes for the day.

His eyes drop to the desk. If he were alone, he would have a snoop and see if there was anything damming in the drawers that could hint at what he wanted with the stone and what was in the chamber. A shadow of doubt crossed his mind. He wouldn’t leave anything in such an obvious place.

His privacy over Christmas break after his escapade with Hiyori – and the invisibility cloak – had allowed him to break back into the library. He’d wandered aimlessly through the bookshelves where Kugaha had been previously, though he had no idea what more information could be hidden that he had already found.

A nonchalant question to the librarian – in operating hours, of course – about famous stones had led his search to part of the library that wasn’t restricted. Large books of crimson and navy inscribed with gold, portraying famous witches and wizards who had created and discovered stones with magical properties – and what they were used for. Though he had no idea what kind of stone he was looking for, he had one lead.

Nicolas Flamel.

Whatever he’d made was in Vault 717, and it was removed before it could have been stolen. And now two of his professors were talking about it in the dark of an abandoned library.

The thought stayed with him as he left the class and headed towards the Great Hall. Then again, he didn’t really think of anything else. His eyes shifted to the window. Winter was truly here: by the time classes were finished there was no sunlight to enjoy, and the rain was even more torrential than it usually was for British weather. It would be a miracle if anyone would win the Quidditch Cup this year since the players would sooner get washed out by the storm that anyone catching the Snitch.

His eyes drifted back to the figures loitering in the arches, their backs turned to him. The closer he got he could see the crimson and gold fabric peeking out from their black robes. The distinguishable mess of Yukine’s hair and Hiyori’s overloaded satchel told him they were up to something – perhaps discussing Yato himself as they seemed to be in deep discussion.

Almost reluctantly Yato approached them. He wouldn’t apologise for his outburst, but he didn’t want to fall out with them completely. He stood between the pair who had just noticed his presence, both looking up at him simultaneously. A hint of guilt flashed across their faces as if they hand be caught red-handed. Well, red-booked.

“Ah…” Yukine said slowly, clocking what was about to happen. _We’re in the shit now…_

Yato’s attention fell on the scarlet book Hiyori was holding, inscribed in gold was the title: _Famous Stones and Substances._ His heart missed a beat. _They’d been in the same section he had found out about Nicolas Flamel. They’d found the exact book he’d read._

His eyes darted back to Hiyori who had clutched the book to her chest, already too late to conceal the title and the uneasy look on her face. She looked at Yukine, who gave her a small nod as they both turned back to face Yato head-on. The look on his face told her that she’d better start talking before he did.

“We know about the Philosopher’s Stone.”

Instantly Yato grabbed Hiyori’s elbow and begins to steer her through the hallway. Hiyori reaches back and catches the scruff of Yukine’s robe before he can escape, fisting it in her hand and dragging him along. Yato was cursing under his breath, swears that are barely audible over Yukine’s protests as he and Hiyori were led away from the passing stares of students who were on their way to their dorms.

His grip didn’t loosen on Hiyori, and probably wouldn’t until they were somewhere private to talk. She didn’t attempt to struggle, seeing as Yato was more likely to talk now that she had done some digging of her own.

Yato’s quick pace led them to an unfamiliar part of the castle, silent except for the echoing of their footsteps and Yukine’s protests as he tried to detach himself from the situation, though it was his idea. Yato pushed open one of the doors lining the hall, towing Hiyori in, followed by Yukine who had accepted his fate as the door slammed shut behind them.

Yato dropped Hiyori’s elbow, plucking the book out of her arms. He walked away silently, turning the book over in his hands before dropping it to his side and leaning against a desk. He looked at the pair. Not with his usual glare, or the infuriated look he had that morning when Hiyori had mentioned it, but with one that was just exasperated.

Hiyori’s eyes shifted to the other side of the room, culpable and sheepish as the stifling silence drew out. Yukine hovered next to the door, debating whether he should leave them to it until Yato spoke up.

“I told you to drop it,” he said quietly, “and you went and did the opposite.”

“You can’t expect me to ignore what I heard when you’re acting so damn secretive!” Hiyori shot back, her head snapping back in irritation. He clearly knew something she didn’t, and she wasn’t going to let the topic slide so easily.

Yato’s expression changed from exasperated to his usual scowl. “Have you considered that this is none of your business?”

“Have you considered not hiding things from your friends?” Hiyori mimicked his question, turning it back on him.

“For the last time,” Yato stood up straight, tucking the book under his arm and shoving his hand in his pocket. He crossed the room to where Hiyori stood. Though there was only a year between them, he still had a height over her which made her tilt her head to meet his eye. With a weighted finality, he finished his warning, “drop it.”

“I won’t!” Hiyori exclaimed, not breaking eye contact, “and that’s just going to cause more trouble for you, isn’t it?”

Yato stared at her, his jaw clenching slightly. _This girl…_ Yato thought irritatedly. He couldn’t retort before she was giving her own kind of threat.

“So, pipe up or we will.” Hiyori glanced behind her back at Yukine who had been silent the entire time, watching the heated exchange.

He looked between the two, raising his shoulders with a shrug. “What she said,” he said.

Hiyori smiled slightly. Yukine backing her might sway Yato into talking more, even letting them help him with whatever had got him riled up. She looked back at Yato expectantly, her eyes telling him that she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Tch,” Yato made a frustrated sound, letting his eyes slide away in defeat. He would let his resolute stance on the issue waiver if it meant that Hiyori wouldn’t go shooting her mouth off again. He dropped the book back on the table and randomly opened it to a page before thumbing through it.

“What do you know?”

Hiyori and Yukine exchanged a look, and Yukine raised his chin as if to say, ‘Go on’. He walked forward, skirting around Yato who had an absorbed frown of concentration on his face, and sat on the desk behind so he was facing Yato, arms crossed.  

Hiyori followed his lead, coming closer until she was by Yato’s side and watched the blur of pages as Yato searched for a specific article, mumbling under his breath. Hiyori batted his hand away, flipping the book in the opposite direction to the page she had memorised. Assorted materials of stone, metal and leather crests stitched onto the thick pages between the cursive writing, which Hiyori began to read aloud:

“ _Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosophers Stone_ ,” she read slowly and clearly. Yato nodded his head, silently reading along with her.

“ _The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosophers Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers…_ ”

“ _The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the elixir of life, which will make the drinker immortal._ ” Yato finished the passage for her.

They knew exactly what he knew about the stone, but not about its current whereabouts. Yet, none of them knew what it would be used for. Yato straightened up as Hiyori turned to look at him.

“Now,” she said calmly, “what do _you_ know?”

Yato looked behind her to Yukine who raised his eyebrows. No point arguing, he had resigned himself from that fate the moment he opened the book.

“In the library, Takemikazuchi mentioned Nicolas Flamel. He also said, ‘whatever was in that vault is gone’,” Yato explained. Hiyori’s eyebrows drew together in confusion as Yato continued.

“A few months ago, you were reading the _Daily Prophet_. There was a break in at Gringotts – the wizard bank. Something from Vault 717 was stolen,” Yato’s explanation cleared Hiyori’s puzzled expression, surprised that he had recalled that article.

“So, you think that the Stone was stolen from Gringotts?” Yukine interjected. Yato nodded.

“But Takemikazuchi mentioned a Chamber… what chamber?” Hiyori looked between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin. It meant nothing to her, but to a wizard it might mean something.

Yato looked at her cautiously. He knew exactly what it meant: any Slytherin would, but their own conversation about the Hogwarts founders was fresh in his mind. In particular, the founder who hated muggleborn wizards, who desired a pureblood school. Who is said to have created a chamber containing a fierce beast that would one day purge the school of ‘dirty’ blood.

“It’s the Chamber of Secrets.”

 

~

 

After a rushed dinner, the three separately made their way to the meet up point to talk about the Chamber of Secrets.

Curled up once again in Yato’s hide out – with a vigilant determination not to fall asleep like last time –, the trio sat amongst an even bigger pile of cups which had accumulated over the remainder of Christmas break. Avoiding the mysteriously stained sofa, they grabbed cushions to sit on facing each other, expectantly waiting to hear the rest of the story before curfew started.

Yato wanted this conversation to be over as soon as possible. He drew a breath.

“The four founders of Hogwarts, the ones we studied,” Yato looked at Hiyori who nodded before continuing, “well, they had a disagreement.”

“About blood types?” Hiyori asked, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Yato nodded.

“Salazar Slytherin was the only one who wanted muggle restrictions, but the other didn’t.” Yukine chipped in.

 _Such legends as these must be passed around wizard children as their growing up,_ Hiyori thought, letting her gaze slide back to Yato.

“Well, long story short,” Yato said, leaning back on his elbows, “legend says he created a secret chamber before he left, in the dungeons.”

Yato finished his sentence there. Hiyori looked confused, whilst Yukine gave him an unimpressed glare.

“You and I both know that’s not the full story,” he said accusingly, “even Hiyori can tell!”

Yato grumbled, silently cursing Yukine for not letting the ending slide. Especially since it concerned muggleborns most of all.

“There may be something about a giant killer snake waiting to be unleashed to kill all the muggle in the school…” Yato mumbled quickly, avoiding Hiyori’s eye.

“WHAT?!” she nearly screeched before clapping her hands over her mouth in horror.

 _I knew this was a bad idea…_ Yato thought.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Yukine said, “it’s only a Basilisk, it won’t hurt you. But you will die if you see it.”

“Thank you for that nugget of information of how she may die,” Yato spat out the words, but Yukine only shrugged as if he had done her a favour. Yato looked back to Hiyori.

“The chamber can only be opened by the Heir of Slytherin,” he said calmly, hoping it would have an effect on Hiyori. She had removed one hand from her mouth, wrapping one arm around her legs whilst the other remained pressed in a fist to her mouth.

“As far as we know, there is no heir, and,” he said with a confident finality, “it’s just a legend.”

“A legend which two shady teachers are talking about, along with a mystical stone which is actually real.” Yukine chipped in once again. Yato stretched his leg and kicked Yukine in the side, just forcefully enough to topple him over and onto Hiyori, effectively knocking them both over.

Yukine began shouting profanities at Yato as he struggled to get off Hiyori as quickly as he could, his face already stained a deep crimson which nearly mirrored Hiyori’s pink cheeks. Unlike Yukine, she was smiling, temporarily distracted from the legend that may become history. Yato grinned, dodging the pillow missiles Yukine has started launching in his general direction as Hiyori tried to stifle her amusement.

Yato caught on of the pillows deftly and flung it back at Yukine, seizing the opportunity to end the conversation.

“It’s almost curfew,” he said, arching an eyebrow as Hiyori frantically looked at her watch, “don’t want to be late, do we?”

“You son of a –” Yukine began to cuss again, raising another pillow before he was grabbed by the back of his shirt.

Hiyori had started tugging him along and out of the door, shouting a hurried farewell to Yato who dodged the final pillow Yukine had managed to throw from the doorway before being unceremoniously dragged away.

Yato listened to their voices fade, his thoughts drifting back to the legend of the Chamber of Secrets.

How did the stone and the chamber interlink?

What were they being used for?

Whatever was about to happen, it wouldn’t be good.

**Author's Note:**

> Such suspicion, all the plot is kicking off now!


End file.
